Portable heater.



J. T. ROBERTS. PORTABLE HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1913.

Patented June 16, 1914.

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I/Vi/byWoM/A COLUMBIA PLANOGRAFH 30., WASHINGTON. D. C.

J. T. ROBERTS.

PORTABLE HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 29, 1913.

Patented June 16, 1914.

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J. T. ROBERTS. PORTABLE HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED LY 29, 1913.

1, 1 O0, 1 98, Patented June 16, 1914.

3 $HEETSSHEET 3.

M'Zhesses.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRA?" 00-. WASHINGTON. D. C.

JOHN T. ROBERTS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

PORTABLE HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 29, 1913.

Patented June 16, 1914.

Serial No. 781,876.

[0 all 2071 0m it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN T. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Heaters, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in portable heaters.

In carrying out my invention it is my purpose to construct a heating apparatus which may be readily conveyed from place to place, if desired, and which is'provided with a heat retaining member which may be readily removed therefrom and employed as a foot warmer, a means for heating water, i

when placed therein and for other uses wherein heat is desired for a comparatively long period, the removal. of the said member not interfering with the heating properties of the remainder of the structure.

I also aim to provide a heater which embodies a casing and a reservoir that is hingedly connected with the case, the reservoir having a suitable packing of cotton or other fiber whereby the liquid fuel is absorbed, but which will readily permit of the gas from the fuel passing through wicks provided upon suitable burners.

A further object of the invention is the construction of a fuel reservoir with an interlining comprising a number of sheets of asbestos or the like which will positively prevent fire entering the fuel chamber, and render the same non-explosive.

A still further object of the invention is the construction of a reservoir as above stated that shall be provided with an air inlet tube so that the desired amount of air will mingle with the ignitible' gas and whereby practically all of the carbon will be consumed by the flame from the burners.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of the hinged drum or casing with a swinging frame upon which is arranged spaced bars forming a grid, while upon the grid rests the removable heat-retaining member, the grid being disposed directly above the hoods for the burners, so that the heat passes between'the bars of the grate and is directed upon the lower face of the heat-retaining member, a space being arranged between the casing or hood and the said heat-retaining member, so that the heat will circulate entirely around the said member, means ,being provided whereby the frame may be swung to or away from the hoods, and thus providing not only for the intensity of the heat concentrated upon the heat-retaining member but also arranging the said member so that it can be conveniently removed from the drum or casing after a top or cap for the casing has been removed.

l Vith the above, and other objects in View which will appear as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed, the improvement resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in the following specification and falling within the scope of the appended claims.

For the purpose of illustration the accompanying drawings represent a satisfactory reduction of the improvement to practice, but the nature of the invention necessarily renders the same susceptible to embodiment in various other forms of construction, all of which, however, fall within the scope of my claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portable heater constructed in accordance with the present invention, Fig.

2 is a central longitudinal sectional view through the same, Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view upon the line o-o of Fig. 2, the

casing. grid. and grid supporting frame being indicated by the dotted lines. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the heat absorbing and retaining member, Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view approximately upon the line w-w of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a sectional view on the line uu of Fig 2. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the crank shaft support for one of the ends of the pivoted grid frame, Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view on the line w-m of Fig. 6.

The heater maybe constructed of any de sired material suitable for the purpose, such as sheet iron or the like, and necessarily includes a fuel reservoir 1 and a casing or hood 2. The reservoir has its top formed of any number of plates of metal and the base of the same has its flanged sides outturned to provide lips 3 which are engaged by similar lips 3 formed by overturning the edges of the top. Interposed between these engaging lips is any fire proof material, such as a number of'sheets of asbestos, designated by the numerals l, being shown in. the drawings. The reservoir has a packing of some absorbent material. such as cotton waste or the like, indicated by the numeral 5, and the said base is provided with feet 6 which elevate the same above its support. The base is formed with any desired number of openings, four being shown in the drawings, and each of the said openings is adapted to receive the lower end 7 of lamp burners 8. The burners are provided with caps 9 as well as with the ordinary wick tubes through which pass the wicks 10, and the said wicks are regulated or adjusted through the medium of the usual star wheels which are arranged upon axles having turn- 111g heads 11. The wicks 10, as shown in the drawings, are surrounded by the liquid fuel soaked waste 5. The top of the reservoir is provided with a fuel opening which is normally closed through the medium of a cap 12, and the said top is further provided with a substantially U-shaped tube 13 which serves as an air inlet for the reservoir, and which not only supplies the reservoir with air but serves as an exit for heated gases, so, it will be noted that my fuel reservoir is rendered positively non-explosive regardless of any angle or inclination to which the reservoir may be placed or subjected.

In the showing of the drawings the reservoir 1 is of a substantially rectangular formation, and the casing or drum 2 is likewise rectangular in cross section. The casing 2 is provided with a plurality of feet 14 which rest upon the top plate of the reservoir, and so provide an air space between the said casing and reservoir. As has been stated, the top plate of the reservoir may be formed of a number of metal plates, and the uppermost plate is slitted at a suitable distance from two of the sides of the reservoir and the metal bounded by the slits bent upwardly to provide tongues 15 which have their upper extremities bent to form barrels 16 which are adapted to co-act with similar bent portions formed upon plates 17 upon what I term the rear wall 18 of the casing 2. Passing through the barrels or eyes are suitable pintles 19, whereby the casing 2 is hingedly secured upon the reservoir. The front end of the reservoir also has its top plate slitted, the metal bounded by the slits being bent angularly and the extremity thereof offset to provide a latch 20, while the front face 21 of the casing is formed with a keeper 22 which engages the latch to retain the easing upon the reservoir. The rear wall 18 of the casing 2 is preferably of a greater height than the front wall 21 thereof, so that the side walls incline from the back to the front, and all of the walls of the casing, adjacent the upper edges thereof are provided with spaced openings 23 which serve as exits for the products of combustion, and the side walls are provided with suitable ears 24 for the reception of the curved ends of a substantially U-shaped bail 25. The casing is further provided with a removable flanged cap or lid 26 which is provided with a knob or handle 27, whereby the same may be grasped and arranged upon or removed from the easing.

The casing is provided with a lower wall which is indicated by the numeral 28, the said wall having a plurality of openings. corresponding in number with the burners 8, and these openings are surrounded by substantially frusto-conical hollow hoods 29, the lower portions of which have air openings 30. Thus it will be noted one of the hoods 29 surround one of the burners, and its funnel-shaped construction directs the heatfrom the burner toward a central opening 31 provided in a flanged frame 32. The frame 32 is pivotally connected within the casing 2 through the medium of removable pivot members 33 which pass through the sides of the casing and which are arranged adjacent the front 21 thereof. The opposite end of the casing is supported upon the straight body 34 of a crank shaft 35, the crank portions of the shaft passing through suitable openings in the sides of the casing but which are arranged adjacent the rear wall 18 of the casing. The openings through which the cranked ends of the shaft 35 pro ject may be provided with reinforcing members 36, and one of the cranked ends of the shaft 35 has an angular extension forming an offset handle 37, whereby the frame 32 may be swung upon its pivots 33 to elevate the frame away from the burners or below the same toward the burners as desired. Arranged upon the frame is what I term a grid 38, the same comprising connecting bars 39 which rest directly upon the frame and which are secured thereto in any desired or preferred manner, and a plurality of bars 4-0 arranged transversely of the bars 39 and which are disposed directly above the opening 31 of the frame 32.

The numeral 41 designates the heat-absorbing and retaining device for the heater. This member comprises a rectangular shell or casing 42 which is adapted to be arranged within the casing 2 and to rest upon the grid 38. The shell is provided with a filling of material best suited for the purpose, as indicated by the numeral 43, and the said shell is provided with a substantially U- shaped bail or handle 44 which rests normally within a U-shaped depression 45 formed in the upper face of the shell, and the opposite arms of the said bail 44 pass through openings provided in the opposite walls of the U-shaped depressions, so that when the bail is lowered to within the depression the outerface of the shell provides a comparatively uninterrupted smooth surface.

The device is adapted to be made in such proportions as to permit of the same being readily transported, and as above stated, the

' member 41, after being sufiiciently heated,

may be removed from the casing in order to deliver the heat therefrom as required, while with the arrangement of the lid or ca 26 the remainder of the structure may be employed for the usual heating purposes, but if desired, the lid 26 may be removed and a suitable receptacle placed upon the grid, so that food within the said receptacle may be cooked by the burner, which also does not interfere with the heat dispelling quality of the apparatus. 7

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the simplicity as well as the advantages of the construction will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains Without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device for the purpose described, a fuel receptacle, burners for the receptacle, a casing elevated from but connected with the receptacle, said casing having exit openings for the products of combustion, a piv oted hollow frame within the casing, a grid upon the frame, a shell containing a heatabsorbing and retaining substance upon the grid, and a removable lid for the casing.

2. In a device of the class described, a fuel receptacle, burners for the receptacle, a hinged casing having feet resting upon the receptacle, a latch for retaining the casing upon the receptacle, said casing having spaced exit openings for the products of combustion, a pivoted frame within the easing having an opening disposed above the burner, a grid upon the frame, a removable heat absorbing and retaining member upon the grid, and a removable lid for the casing.

3. In a device for the purpose set forth, the combination with a fuel receptacle having burners attached thereto, of a casing hingedly connected with the receptacle and spaced therefrom, said casing having spaced openings adjacent its upper edge, means for securing the casing to the receptacle, a swinging skeleton frame within the casing, and means for moving the said frame toward or away from the burner.

4. In a device for the purpose described, a fuel receptacle, burners for the receptacle, a casing connected with the receptacle, a grid within the casing, a shell containing a heat absorbing and retaining substance located above the grid, said casing having openings adjacent to its upper edge, and a lid overlying the shell and closing the casing.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN T. ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

lVM. J. KOERTH, GEORGE H. CAMPBELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Yatents, Washington, D. C. 

